Vehicle Accidents
Bus cases are built on a short clock and a common carrier duty
A bus operator owes passengers the heightened duty of a common carrier. If a public agency runs the bus, the deadline to preserve your claim can be six months.
About bus accidents claims
Bus claims divide by who owns the bus, and that distinction drives everything. A transit district, a school district or a municipal operator is a public entity, which means a written administrative claim is generally required within six months of the injury before a lawsuit can be filed at all. Miss that step and an otherwise strong case can be lost on procedure. Private tour, charter, shuttle and employee-transport operators are handled under ordinary rules, often with commercial carrier regulations layered on top.
California treats bus operators as common carriers, which imposes a duty of utmost care toward passengers rather than the ordinary standard of reasonable care. That elevated duty reaches driver conduct, but also boarding and alighting, door and lift operation, securement of wheelchairs, aisle and stanchion condition, and whether a driver pulled away before a passenger was seated. Maintenance and inspection failures, driver hours and fatigue, inadequate training and negligent hiring are also standard areas of inquiry.
Evidence in bus cases is largely electronic and it is largely in the operator’s hands. Modern buses carry multiple interior and exterior cameras, event data recorders and automatic vehicle location systems, and much of it is overwritten on a fixed retention schedule measured in days or weeks. A preservation demand needs to go out immediately, which is the single most time-sensitive step in these matters.
Common injuries
Injuries we see most often in these cases. Every claim is different, and this list is not exhaustive.
- Traumatic brain injury from unrestrained impact inside the cabin
- Spinal and disc injury from sudden braking and acceleration
- Fractures from falls while boarding, alighting or standing
- Crush and amputation injuries to pedestrians and cyclists struck by a bus
- Shoulder, knee and soft tissue injuries requiring surgery
- Wrongful death in rollover and high-occupancy collisions
Who can be held liable
Responsibility often extends well beyond the most obvious company. We look at every party in the chain.
- The transit district, school district or municipal operator
- A private charter, tour, shuttle or employee-transport company
- The driver whose conduct caused or contributed to the incident
- A maintenance contractor responsible for brakes, doors, tires or lifts
- A vehicle or component manufacturer where equipment failed
Evidence that matters
What we work to preserve and obtain early, because this proof tends to disappear with time.
- Immediate preservation demand for onboard video and event data
- Automatic vehicle location, telematics and scheduling records
- Driver qualification file, training records, hours and discipline history
- Maintenance, inspection and repair records for the specific vehicle
- Passenger manifests, incident reports and witness identification
Do not wait on the deadline
California generally allows two years to bring a personal injury or product liability claim under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, and two years from the date of death in a wrongful death case. Shorter deadlines apply when a government entity is involved, and deadlines can be extended for injured children. Exceptions are fact-specific. Talk to us before you assume anything about your own timeline.
Answers
Bus Accidents: common questions
Injured by bus accidents? Let us review it at no cost.
A conversation costs you nothing and there is no obligation. No fee unless we recover compensation for you. In some matters a client may still be responsible for case costs and expenses, and we will explain exactly how that works before you decide to hire us.